No matter who rules Constantinople, the people will be the same. This sounds ironic to say, but it is true, and it is even a little bit ironic.
Although the newly rising Ottoman Empire seemed very crazy in terms of succession to the throne, they were quite generous in treating the places they conquered. The tax rate was very low, only 10%. They also encouraged business development and respected the habits of the local people... as long as
If you accept me as your elder brother, I will let you live a stable and prosperous life.
In comparison, in Eastern Rome, it was really not as good as the Ottomans.
Without radical reforms, Eastern Rome would be a dead end.
No matter how much force the Ming Dynasty could use, even if it was given, the Eastern Roman Empire would not be able to take it.
A country that is decayed and languid, with internal chaos, constant fighting, and mud that cannot hold up the walls, is on the verge of death and there is absolutely no way to save it.
It's like giving Wanyan Gou more famous generals, he can still claim his vassal and pay tribute, and call each other "father". Without him, it would be too difficult to save what he has in his bones.
The same is true for Eastern Rome. We must first solve a problem: why should the people be loyal to you, support you, and fight with you?
"Fair! Fair! Still fair!"
Zhang Ximeng said with a smile: "You came here to ask for a way to save the country. In fact, this method is not complicated at all. We can defeat the Mongols because of fairness! Fair land distribution, fair tax burden, fair reward for war, fair promotion of officials...
…Every time we fight, we will become stronger and stronger, and eventually when we accumulate hundreds of thousands of troops, we will be enough to drive away the Yuan army.”
Manuel frowned and shook his head in pain, "Is there no other way? It is unacceptable for those farmers to be the same as the nobles. If we dare to do this, the entire West will destroy us.
Treat them as heretics and launch a crusade. Our fate will be worse than death at the hands of the Ottomans!"
Zhang Ximeng smiled slightly, "Are you willing to subjugate your country?"
Manuel was once again speechless.
This is the case. If you try to stay strong by changing the method, there is no way to survive. If you try to change the method to strengthen, your chances of winning are not great, but there is still a glimmer of hope.
But once the reform is carried out and the country is governed like the Ming Dynasty, even if only one tenth of it is achieved, and Constantinople is taken, the entire West will immediately explode.
What did Daming do?
Equal distribution of land, unity among the people, the power of the emperor coming from the common people... These are all things that shake the foundation of the West, such as the imperial examination system, which can drive Westerners crazy!
Even the most common theory of the round earth of the Ming Dynasty would be burned to death if it were introduced to the West.
That highly regarded talented woman Xia Zhifeng, if she was placed in the West, she should be roasted over a fire, and she should be roasted over a slow fire!
It's simply too abominable!
You are shaking the foundation of God and you will definitely go to hell.
To even have such thoughts is already treasonous.
But with the same problem, the strength of Ming Dynasty is also jaw-dropping and makes people fall to the ground.
Manuel has seen a lot during his time here.
Take Yingtian City as an example. No matter in terms of scale or wealth, it cannot be compared to Constantinople... What's even more terrible is that there is only one Constantinople left in the entire Eastern Rome, and
It will soon be renamed Istanbul.
But in the Ming Dynasty, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Yangzhou, Kaifeng, Peiping... there were too many cities that could rival Yingtian, and their territory was too vast.
Just the vast map made Manuel dumbfounded.
What a huge monster this is!
What emperor doesn't want his country to be vast and powerful?
In fact, Manuel also knew that the practices of the Ming Dynasty were actually a bit like those of early Rome... At that time, Rome was also dominated by homesteaders, and in addition to plowing the fields, the common people also fought wars.
The combination of farming and war is simply the Qin State in the West, so it is not unreasonable for Chinese history books to call Rome the Great Qin.
However, as the country developed, land annexation also occurred in Rome. The nobles occupied too many fields, and the peasants became tenant farmers and slaves.
The powerful Roman army also had to be converted into mercenaries... Local powerful forces became stronger, vassal towns were divided, and imperial power weakened... In fact, looking at the history of the Roman Empire, it is easy to think of the rise and fall of Chinese dynasties, and the logic is almost the same.
But the difference comes next. Although the dynasties in the Eastern world have declined, there are still powerful civilizations, and the heroes who have arisen after them all have the fundamental task of unifying the world.
It is precisely because of this that the East has been reborn again and again, and the concept of great unity has been continuously strengthened in each rebirth. Later, long-term divisions like the Three Kingdoms, Two Jins, Southern and Northern Dynasties no longer existed.
But things are different in the West. After Rome, there is no Rome.
What is even more frightening is that this trend is becoming more and more obvious, and the divisions are becoming more and more fragmented. Even any attempt to unify the West will be regarded as a crime, leading to a group attack.
"We are all harmed by our religious beliefs!"
After several days of reflection, Manuel finally came to a classic conclusion.
Yes, although there are gods worshiped in the East and there are temples, Eastern people treat gods with a rational attitude. They do not believe in gods unconditionally.
Any god will be respected only if it is efficacious and can protect believers and help believers realize their dreams. Otherwise, Easterners will abandon them without hesitation.
From this point of view, Easterners are the masters of the gods.
This is completely different from Westerners. Westerners regard themselves as lamb slaves of gods and never dare to question gods. They only think that they are not pious enough!
What a stupid and ridiculous behavior!
It is religious belief that harms the West and restricts the West from becoming rich and powerful!
Yes, that’s it!
But after Zhang Chengtian told Zhang Ximeng about Manuel's insights, Zhang Ximeng fell into a long silence.
This reflection is really profound!
"By the way, are there many Yi merchants in Yingtian City, as well as in Suzhou and Hangzhou and other places? Where are the Yi scholars?" Zhang Ximeng asked curiously.
Zhang Chengtian immediately said: "There are quite a few, but there are not many from Fulin. There are many people from other countries, including the Ottomans. Moreover, we have completed the global voyage and have seen some Western barbarians, such as the Francois and the Venetians.
… Some of them also came to the Ming Dynasty one after another. But the most numerous ones were from Japan and Annan. There used to be quite a few from Goryeo, but now Goryeo seems not to be considered a barbarian."
Isn’t it?
Li Shanchang has been struggling for so long, almost all the young people in Goryeo are gone, and there are so many young people from the Ming Dynasty who have pioneered in the past. Soon, they will really become a family. The only thing they need to worry about is that a few years later, they will compete for some characters.
The place of birth may be a little troublesome...
"Do you think we can get these barbarians together to study the Ming Dynasty?" Zhang Ximeng said.
Zhang Chengtian's eyes widened, "Let them study the Ming Dynasty?"
"Yes, it is to use their perspective to see the Ming Dynasty. It is best to form a kind of explicit learning... Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand!" Zhang Chengtian said simply: "Dad, in fact, we have already had it. A few years ago, we opened the sea for trade, and some barbarian merchants brought the news of the Ming Dynasty back to the country. Later, people knew that we defeated the Yuan Dynasty, so it was even more
Awesome. Translating Ming Dynasty classics... By the way, you wrote so many articles, and they were also translated... There were a lot of jokes in the first few years, such as translating Xuan Zhi You Xuan as Hei Hei Hei! The situation now is good
I learned a lot, especially hearing those barbarians reflect on themselves, which was quite interesting."
"Reflect? Reflect on what?"
Zhang Chengtian said: "Of course I reflect that they have no spirit of contract."
"No?" Zhang Ximeng frowned slightly.
Zhang Chengtian said confidently: "No, you old man, look at our businessmen, what they say is true, and spitting is like a nail! Look at those Westerners, every time they write something on the document, they still play with words.
They play games and try their best to take advantage of loopholes. They are simply not the sons of man! Therefore, they will always be barbarians! They cannot be civilized people!"
Zhang Ximeng listened silently. Gradually, he began to understand why after entering the customs, there were great scholars who whitewashed the peace for you.
As long as you are the strongest, people will naturally pounce on you and use you as a blueprint to reflect on themselves.
This effect is almost like that of other people’s children!
As long as you get first place in the exam, you are full of advantages and there is nothing wrong with it.
At present, the basic research method of these overseas scholars in the Ming Dynasty is to compare the Ming Dynasty with their own country. If there is any difference, then they must be wrong.
We need to learn from Ming Dynasty.
If we dig a little deeper, it is the root of civilization's shortcomings and the quality of people is too poor... At this point, the Japanese envoys were the most outstanding.
Some people have already pointed out that the Japanese country did not learn the benevolence that is the core of Confucianism, but instead blindly emphasized loyalty. Subordinates must obey their superiors, and samurai must obey the daimyo... But what is ridiculous is that the Japanese country actually came up with such a weird thing as the shogun, who pretends to be a king.
This shows that the Japanese loyalty is also false and hypocritical.
Fundamentally speaking, we still worship force.
To put it more bluntly, the Japanese country had moral problems and the quality of its people was worrying.
Only by learning from the Ming Dynasty and making complete changes can the Japanese people come out of their half-beast, half-human state...
Zhang Ximeng doesn't have much fun, and most of it comes from these people. Looking at these profound reflections, Zhang Ximeng can sometimes laugh all afternoon.
And this group of people not only talked about it, but also took action... the incident happened in Annan.
Zhu Ying sent news that the Chen Dynasty of Annan gathered 120,000 troops and went south to attack Champa City. As a result, they suffered a disastrous defeat and the king died in front of the army.
Some scholars and maritime merchants who had been to the Ming Dynasty in the past few years got together and believed that the actions of the Chen Dynasty emperor were just like those of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, which wasted people and money and left the people with no way to make a living.
Now that Hunjun has died in battle, it is Heaven's punishment!
The wise people of Annan must stand up, eliminate the powerful, divide the land equally, and give land to the tiller!
In just one month, they gathered more than 50,000 people. Annan was shocked, Lingnan was shocked...
..23xstxt.
Lewen
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